Moment of truth for Sihlangu
Fixture: Mauritius vs Sihlangu Venue: King Zwelithini Stadium
Time: 2pm
MBABANE – The time is now for the national team, Sihlangu.
They are looking to turn their dream of winning the COSAFA Cup i n t o reality. Their 20th campaign in the regional tournament gets underway today for Sihlangu, against Mauritius in the opening game of Group B, that also features Malawi and Lesotho, who will do battle later today.
The winner of the group will play Senegal in the quarterfinal. Sihlangu, who left the country on Sunday in an unfamiliar way, due to security reasons, was beaming with confidence ahead of the tournament with all players having a dream of winning the COSAFA Cup for the first time since its inception in 1997. Sihlangu has never reached the finals of the tournament. Their best performance was in the last edition and in 2016 when they brought home the bronze medal after reaching the semifinals where they narrowly lost on penalties to West African guest nation Senegal, before going on to defeat Mozambique via the ‘lottery’ in the bronze medal match.
Kunene’s team is mixed with youth and experience including striker Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa who is among the stars of the tournament. Others set to shine for Sihlangu are Junior Magagula, Peter Dlamini, Sifiso Matse, Fanelo ‘Order’ Mamba, Sandile ‘Saviola’ Gamedze and Sikhumbuzo Magagula, among others.
Sihlangu will be without midfielder Felix
Badenhorst who is the record goalscorer in the COSAFA Cup with nine goals, one more than the great Zimbabwean Peter Ndlovu. He was left out of the squad, with international player in Justice Figuareido and Bonginkosi ‘Manyovu’ Dlamini.
The players will have to be physiologically ready to ignore the ‘political wave’ that will be standing in their way. The squad is set to meet protesters from the Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO) at or around the King Zwelithini Stadium, where they will be playing the group stages matches. The main obstacle for the team will be Mauritius, who will not be a walkover as they also have set their goals of leaving a mark in the tournament. It will be their third meeting with Sihlangu having played a oneall draw in the 2008 edition and two-all draw in 2019. They missed out last year.
Mauritius is still seeking to get past the quarterfinal stage of the southern African championship.
The squad comprises of experienced players such as Kelvin Jean Loius, Emmanuel Vincent and Hans Patate.